Strangers in Shadows
by Shadowfax2931
Summary: Pre-LOTR. When Aragorn comes across a man who has captured the Prince of Mirkwood for revenge, Aragorn must try to help legolas while keeping his intentions secret. Will Legolas trust Aragorn in time? (NO SLASH)
1. Default Chapter

Strangers in Shadows

**By: **Amanda and Shelby

**Rating: **Pg 13 for violence

**Summary: **Pre-LOTR. When Aragorn comes across a man who has captured the Prince of Mirkwood for revenge, Aragorn must try to help legolas while keeping his intentions secret. Will Legolas trust Aragorn in time? (NO SLASH)

**Disclaimers:** We do not own any of The Lord of the Rings. (as much as we wish we did) All the Characters belong to J.R.R Tolkien. Though, any characters you do not recognize belong to us.

**Feedback: **Yes Please! We thrive on reviews and we really want to know what you think. Please no flames though, constructive criticism is most welcome and encouraged! So please review!

**Special Thanks: **Thank you so much Gwenneth for all the help you have given us on this story. You go above and beyond, we would not be here without your help. Thank you for being a great friend and beta! hugs

**Authors Note: **Hey guys! We finally got something out, though we have not finished the story, we are posting it anyways. Thank you to all who reviewed to "Sword and Arrow", yes it will be finished and posted again, to those who wanted to know. ;)

I cannot seem to update my profile, so the story that you see mentioned on there("Stranger in Shadows") is actually this one with a title change.;)

**Additional Notes:** This is the Prologue of the story and its not suppose to make sense yet, though it will click together in the next few chapters.;)This story takes place before The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is in his early twenties, and legolas would be roughly around 2800.

Ok enough blabbing, on with the story…

Strangers in Shadows

by: Amanda & Shelby

Prologue

Only shivers ran around the lonely fire; the shivers of cold bodies trying to draw warmth from the dying sparks of the small campfire that crackled in their midst. Continuous rain had taken most comforts from here these past months as it dampened the environment. Hours would go by slowly, like years of waiting for something that wouldn't come, as they searched hopelessly for comfort and warmth.

Watching the sparks through matted dark locks of hair, as if he could make the fire blaze with the power of his anger, a mess of memory, plans, hatred, pain and the feeling of a soul gone. Unfocused eyes watched memories of a recent past repeat itself; taunting and provoking him to do the unthinkable. He knew it was making him crazy, slowly it felt as though it already had snatched away his sanity.

All he saw at night was a limp, bloody body; killed by the beings within this forest. The beings he hated and despised. The beings he would like to kill and gain his revenge from. The beings who had killed his younger brother, leaving the body which plagued his thoughts right in front of his eyes.

Memories.

Memories that fostered hatred and burning agony within his heart.

_The beings_, he thought,_ the creatures; the creatures that shall hide from fear of me, cower beneath my shadow which will rise like death before the dawn._

The others around the fire watched as their leader's eyes grew cold once again. A shadow touched his features and anger traced each weary line upon his face. Droplets of water streamed down his checks, first thought to be tears, but which were only the beginning of another storm of rain with thunder and lightning to match his expressions perfectly.

They drew their cloaks closer to their bodies, trying to preserve any heat as more chill filled their surroundings. More so a feeling that seemed to penetrate them came from the man before them; a scene of victory that seemed so emotional it was hard to ignore.

A crack of lightning creased the sky and thunder clapped loudly, echoing painfully and bringing cold tears to one's eyes when he heard it, almost like a signal. The man before them stood with balled fists and fury-filled eyes and picked up a bag that seemed to clang like the thunder that had just clapped in the heavens. As he stood rain pelted them like the night covered the forest.

The fire gave one last leap as the rain poured down, enveloping it, yelling at it to disappear. Darkness took over the place once more, and the flames slowly faded away and the fire disappeared into the darkness. The wind blew against the trees and the feeling of cold and dread flooded over them.

Hitching his bag over his shoulder, sharing a haunted grin with his men, the man walked off into the downpour, concealing himself in the rain, leaving their horses. His group took his grin and departure as a sign to follow. With a moan and a shudder they got to their feet, letting cloaks fall and allowing the chill to reach their bones. A chill that did not only come from the cold of the weather.

Walking blindly through the forest they followed a dim outline of the man in front of them with no question. They had been with him for a long time and were firm in their loyalty. The rain seemed to take over the night's darkness. There was more rain than there was light and the rain gave the usual darkness a silver sheen.

When they had left the little clearing of trees the rain decided to slow down and just sprinkle. A thick fog and mist decided to take over the rains job, making it hard to see.

The men followed their leader, knowing where they were going, but not certain why it was now that he choose to go there.

A light wind moved through the mist as a small shade of light shone through, welcoming morning. Their feet stuck to the ground as they trudged their way through the sticky mud.

They followed a path into an opening where there were signs of a small struggle. The leader's companions moved quickly toward an immense pit in the ground. Arrows were spread around as they glanced into the hold and saw a lonely blond-haired being in its clutches.

The leader smiled. He was about to get the revenge that he had so longed for.

There's the prologue! Please, please review! We are finished with the next chapter so we should have it posted soon!

Namarie, for now!


	2. A Break in the Sky

**For Disclaimer and other notes see prologue **

Wow! I was really supprised at the amount of reviews!(responses are at the bottom) Thank you guys so much, it means a lot to us! We posted this chapter a little earlier than was planned…but I didn't think any of you would object. ;)

Thank you so much Gwenneth for betaing this chapter!

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Strangers in Shadows

By: Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 1

A Break in the Sky

Darkness devoured the two beings as rain showered them.

The only sound that could be heard was the soft rushing and puttering of the rain as it hammered the wet ground, save for the soft sorrow filled weep escaping one of the two elves that sat silently by a fallen tree. A silver tear slipped from the elf's blurry eyes onto his blooded cheek before mixing with rain that flooded his soft face. Strong arms wrapped around his fallen companion, holding him in place, determined to let nothing take him, not even death.

Thaladirith was dying.

Legolas couldn't let it happen. He shook his head. _No_. He wouldn't let it happen.

Fingers of light descended from the sky behind the dark gray clouds, casting long, haunted shadows across the forest's dark features before disappearing and allowing the darkness to take over once more. The storm was not expecting to rest and the thunder that followed the sparks of light told him that he had not seen the end of it yet. It was going to get stronger before the end.

A deep gasp caught his attention once more. Legolas lowered his head to look at his dying friend, more weeps escaped his lips. Thaladirith was having a hard time allowing the air to flow through his lungs.

Curse the evil that had so grown in this innocent forest. He watched the shadow-like clouds sweeping across what was visible of the night sky as a curtain of his blond hair flew in front of his face, taunting him. He brushed the strands away furiously.

This evil that had taken the forest captive with its villainy was costing his friend his life. A friend he had long known as a friend, but now a guard of the palace as well. They had grown up together and Thaladirith's father was one of the top-ranked elves in Thranduil's court and was extremely loyal to Elvenking. He didn't want to imagine what his father would say, especially Thaladirith's father, Thalion, if Thaladirith died, his father would likely die from his own grief. His wife and daughter had gone to the Undying Lands just a few years ago, to lose Thaladirith would be terrible.

He did not want it to end now.

A flood of tears slid down his stained face. How could a simple hunting trip go so terribly wrong? It was a simple mission in attempt to gather food for those in need.

_** FLASH BACK **_

Moving off the Elf Path, Legolas and Thaladirith slowly made their way into the grove of trees. The trail of the herd of deer they had been tracking had been lost in the darkness that was taking over the light of the moon that shone through the trees making the shadows seem larger than they really were.

"We should find a place to make camp for the night." Thaladirith's voice echoed through the surrounding trees, as he looked up at the skies.

Legolas nodded looking ahead of Thaladirith. At the moment, he didn't really care, he was too tired.

So he moved ahead and looked at the trees half-heartedly. "How about here?"

Shrugging, Thaladirith nodded, he didn't really mind.

Legolas dropped his pack down at the base of the tree and followed Thaladirith's lead as the Elf leapt cat-like into the giant trees and found a place to rest. He located a branch right beside his companion and sat comfortably against the trunk as the tree graciously welcomed him into its embrace.

Legolas breathed the air around them silently. The soft sounds of Thaladirith's even breath caused him to slowly give away to a light doze. It was just then when he realized that the breathing of his friend was the only thing Legolas could hear. The usual loud chirping of crickets and the soft breath of the wind that rattled the trees was absent.

The silence was deafening.

He quickly snapped out of his daze when a warning of fear tickled at the back of the prince's mind, but wasn't quick enough as he was knocked out of the tree by a black rush.

Thaladirith turned about quick enough to see the prince get knocked out of the tree by a hairy, black body. Then he noticed the worst. They must have made camp so quickly that they weren't paying attention that they were in the middle of a spider's nest.

Thaladirith felt a heavy weight hit his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. He hurtled toward the ground with the help of a giant spider on his back which flattened him to the earth.

Thaladirith tried to roll over to his back to have a better chance to get to the spider with his hands but to no avail. The spider had pinned the elf to the forest floor, keeping him in place as its pincers snapped at the soft skin under Thaladirith ears.

The struggling elf tossed his head to try to make a harder target for the poison stinger to lock on to. Through the haze of his flying hair, Thaladirith took a chance to look at his companion.

The spiders seemed to pop out of nowhere, multiplying, and started to fight against the prince as he struggled to pull his knives out of their sheath. He knew without a doubt that more spiders were lurking just out of sight, waiting for the prince to come closer to give them a chance to prance on him.

The spiders never happened upon much food out in this lonely area and they were determined not to let their prey get away so easily.

"Legolas! No!" Thaladirith's thrashing had become more brutal as he saw that his friend was being herded into a deadly trap. The spiders would corner him until he had nowhere else to go, and had to fight the creatures. Spiders weren't overly smart, but they knew how to corner prey. And unfortunately, Legolas was falling into their trap, unaware that he was soon to be cornered. Thaladirith had seen it too many times before.

The prince's eyes flashed as a small amount of moon light reflected off an evil being's big eyes making the creature look more dreadful than before. His daggers rose into a defensive position and he backed up hoping to find the solid of a tree to cover his back, but the farther back he went the more his body screamed at him in protest.

The soft light of the moon was quickly devoured as dark clouds decided to invade, making it harder for the two companions to see what they were doing. Droplets of water fell helplessly to the ground, making the forest floor harder to navigate on.

Legolas heard Thaladirith's voice from behind his attackers, but paid no attention to him, he already knew he was going to be trapped. During that moment of distraction, the spider took its chance and used its legs and plunged the elf across the forest floor, causing him to smack into the nearest tree.

A spider to his right had charged, as the elf made effort to maintain his balance, its many legs flashing as they pushed their owner forward. Legolas leapt to the left at the last minute, causing the creature to lose its life as Legolas spun around and plunged his elven knives deep into the head of the evil creature. As a result of his actions, the surrounding creatures hurtled forward, anger and hunger urging them on. The prince took his chance to run through the charging enemy. His knives blurred as the elf flashed them through every body that came his way.

Thaladirith had finally gotten his knees under him and he levered the evil being on his back off him. He reached inside his boot to grab his own daggers and hurried to aid the prince.

_**FLASH BACK **_

The prince closed his eyes in silent frustration and turned his silver head up toward the sky. The heavy clouds let loose a few droplets of cold rain water. The lonely drops landed on Legolas' upturned face, rolling down the side of his cheek, attempting to clean the sadness and sorrow from its depths.

He shook his head and hugged the body of his friend into a warmer embrace, careful not to cause him any more pain. He looked around at all the dead bodies of the fallen enemy, and they added no pleasure to his current situation.

He had to get out of here, and quickly. With no healing medicines and not enough knowledge of the healing arts, Legolas couldn't do anything. Nor did he want to bring further discomfort to his friend.

Legolas slowly got to his feet shaking off any other memories that trapped his mind within, took Thaladirith's unconscious form and placed it over his shoulders, and started to make his way back to where he thought the path that led them home was.

The rain was starting to pelt down harder than before and it made it hard for the prince to see where he was going. His golden locks stuck to his face mixed with the tears of guilt and the rain that the clouds still cried.

Legolas let his mind wander once more. I _could have prevented this! I know I could have, but no...I had to lead Thaladirith into a spiders nest... He shouldn't have tried to save me. Who cares if I'm the Prince or not?_ He let his mind wander once more…

_**FLASH BACK **_

The spiders were gradually slowing down, but Legolas and Thaladirith were also getting tired. Thaladirith's countless wounds were throbbing with pain. He put that thought aside and with determination turned to the next threat.

Legolas blocked an attack with his elven knife, and used the other to plunge the blade deep into the back of a spiders head, killing it instantly. He pulled the knife out quickly and used his elven reflexes to turn around and face his new opponent.

A loud deafening crack was heard and blinding light descended from the clouds as lighting broke the sky. It was followed by a loud roar as thunder mimicked its companion.

Legolas jumped at the loud noise and light. Then, everything began to happen too quickly.

Thaladirith watched the lighting as it hit an old, tall tree behind Legolas, detecting it like a magnet does metal, and ripped it horizontally in half. A panicked Legolas was knocked off his feet and plopped down in the to-be landing spot of the tree, as the last few spiders fled, vanishing through the trees and into darkness. Legolas had barely gotten to his feet when he was knocked over once again.

Thaladirith used his best instinct and ran forward pushing Legolas forward with all his might, out of the path of the falling wood. It landed with a loud crash.

Legolas rolled over in disgust about being pushed from behind again. He quickly gained his feet as lightning sounded in the background once again. His eyes lit upon a sight that broke his heart.

Thaladirith lay on the ground buried beneath the giant trunk of the tree.

He was motionless.

"NOOOO!" was the only sound Legolas was able to force from his shocked body. His voice echoed through the trees as he dropped his weapons and ran to his fallen friend, kicking the worthless spiders out of his path.

The prince landed soundlessly on his knees and attempted to lift the fallen log from his friends back. But the broken tree was heavier than it looked. He jumped to his feet and attempted to push the log, but no avail. It wouldn't budge. He reached out for Thaladirith's extended hand and desperately felt for a pulse. He moved his fingers around his companions wrist, until they met with a small, slow beat. He sighed in relief and tried once again to push the tree from its deadly perch atop his friend.

It seemed like hours before the tree finally budged, and he rolled it off slowly as Thaladirith cried out in pure pain. Legolas winced himself, as he rolled the log the rest of the way off Thaladirith's legs, and went slowly back to his friends aid.

Thaladirith's breathing was slow and he had a few broken ribs, how many he had, Legolas could not tell. His eyes sparkled with tears as he thought of what this brave elf had done for him. _I would have done the same_. He let his thoughts wander again as he looked over any other injuries and gasped out loud when his soft fingers detected a large bump on the side of Thaladirith's neck. He had been stung.

The fair haired elf looked behind him for his pack; he saw nothing. He turned his head and looked all around the nest; and saw nothing. All his supplies were gone. He wasn't much of a healer, but he did have an antidote for the spider poison. He stifled a small cry as his friend lost consciousness.

_**FLASH BACK **_

His eyes were glazed with the tears that were threatening to pour over once more. He swiftly wiped them away with the back of his hand. He wasn't going to let his friend die. His foot steps made no noise as he waked toward what he saw was the muddied Elf Path. The rain saturated the previously dry ground making it a mucky wet substance. It stuck to the prince's boots and leggings as he walked the trail, so he moved over to walk on the wet grass.

He lightly shifted the body that was draped over his shoulders and made an effort to move forward once more. He wanted to get home before dawn, but he knew it was impossible even without the heavy rain, the walk was still a two or three day journey.

Legolas' body was getting tired and his wounds were throbbing with pain. He swayed as he stepped forward; his eyes, now half closed, were not even paying attention to his actions. He slowly moved each foot. One in front of the other; he kept telling himself, and felt a warning of mistake run through his body as he stepped down.

A click broke through the pounding rain and at the same time a sharp pang broke into his ankle like a rush of pain-filled wind was whirling around his ankle, spreading severe pain up his leg, followed by a loud whooshing sound.

He dropped Thaladirith out of shock and fell down on his knees as something heavy landed on top of him. He looked up to see what it was when the ground beneath him gave away like a sheet being pulled quickly from under a piece of glass. He let out a yelp as he fell into unknown darkness.

Wow! That is sure a long chapter, longer than most of the other ones! Thank you to all who read and reviewed last time!

Review Responses

**viggomaniac- **yay! Our first reviewer! Thank you so much!

**Othrilis, incisigoth3, Deana, Karri, Zammy- **wow! Thank you guys a lot for the review! I hope you liked this chapter! More will be here soon!

**Mornflower- **I am so sorry about your friends sister! Shelby and I will keep you and your friend in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for the review!

**Legolass Q-** Thats one of my favorite lines too; "...the creatures that shall hide from fear of me, cower beneath my shadow which will rise like death before the dawn." Shelby wrote that! Thank you for the review!

**MorierBlackleaf-** Thank you for the review and the advise that you left me in your email! We can always use it! ;) I hope the plot will keep you entertained!

You guys are awesome! I would have longer responses, but I got to go. ;) Remember to review! Please!

Namarie for now!

Amanda & Shelby


	3. Caught

**For Disclaimer and other notes see prologue**

Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait between updates. I have been so busy and so has Shelby. Speaking of which its Shelby's birthday! HAPPY BIRHTDAY MELLON NIN! Thank you guys for all your wonderful reviews. Welcome any new readers.

Heres the next chapter. Now dont forget to review….

Thank you so much to Gwenneth for betaing this chapter and we hope your hand gets better soon!

Strangers in Shadows

By Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 2

Caught

A loud cry rent the air, hardly noticeable through the splattering rain, as Legolas hit the wall of the trap and landed on the ground with a silent splash. He was surrounded by a net and his arms were trapped within its heavy weaving.

He quickly moved to look at his throbbing ankle and saw darkness. He couldn't see around him. Legolas untangled his fingers from the net and felt around. His hands hit a wall. He moved and turned around in the other direction and found nothing different. He looked up and saw nothing but the darkness of the sky and the rain paltering down.

He was trapped.

The walls of the cave-like hole were too deep, he wouldn't be able to jump out, or even climb with his now damaged leg, and the net that held him down had incredible weight.

The prince began to panic. Then he noticed that his friend wasn't with him. Thaladirith was still up there. Open. Vulnerable. _Who would build such a trap here? And why?_ His mind pondered this as he tried to stretch out, but the net would not allow him to make such movements, and the hole was too narrow.

He tried to gain to his feet , but his injured leg gave way, and he fell back down, becoming more tangled in the encumbering net. He winced in pain as he landed in the pool of icy water at the bottom of the hole.

Legolas transferred his hands to his pained ankle, and could feel it was deep in the depths of a metal trap. His fingers navigated around it; he felt the jaws of the steel that dug deep into his skin and he realized that this was a trap that must have been made by humans.

Elves didn't make these kind of traps. What was it doing here in Mirkwood, and what was this big hole doing here? This was for sure built for a propose, not just to capture animals, but it seemed like beings. Or more precisely - Elves.

He moved one hand to each side of the trap and tried to pry the mouth apart. It wouldn't budge. He tried from a different approach and the teeth moved a bit, but the rain caused the metal to slip out of his grasp and fall back into place around his ankle, causing the teeth to dig deeper.

_Curse those humans. Do all humans always have to be so dimwitted? _Legolas shook his head in annoyance. The Prince reached for his knives to cut the net that was in his way, but his hands felt air. He panicked when he remembered his knives were back at the remains of the spider's nest. All he had with him were his bow and quiver, which only had a few arrows left, most having been lost as he fell.

What would his father think if he saw him here? He almost laughed out loud at the thought. Prince of Mirkwood trapped in a human's pitfall with no means of escape.

Light flickered and faded into the deep hole that Legolas was enveloped in, bouncing off the walls causing shadows of trees and himself to reflect.

Legolas let the rain splatter down upon him, causing mud to splatter him relentlessly. Why was it always he that seemed to get into trouble? The Prince wrapped his cloak around his shoulders as well as he could navigate it with the net still hampering his movement.

It seemed like hours before the rain slowed to a stop allowing the clouds to rest and the darkness of night to cover the forest.

Legolas moved his back and head against the muddied wall, and released another wince as the sharp pain in his leg throbbed, making it feel like it was on fire. He closed his eyes to let his hurt orbs take a rest from all the sight they had seen.

Soaked rain, with the sorrowful color of blood intermingled with the clear water, the prince drifted off into a light sleep as the moon moved out away from its protection of the clouds, allowing its presence to be known once more.

He dreamt of a light, peaceful color as it mixed in with the atmosphere, the light was blinding and hypnotizing and swirled like the water in a pool, its rapids soft and smooth. The most beautiful thing he has seen. Away from all the evil the world was consumed in.

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Light leaked from the sky as the sun rose over the trees. Chirping birds welcomed in the new day. Legolas hadn't realized he had dozed off. He tired once more to remove himself from the net to attend to his wounded leg. Mud was everywhere and his whole body was bathed in it.

He began to grow frustrated at the net got in the way at another spot as he moved it from one. His ankle screamed, crying to be free, and Legolas' mind cried to be free from this trap.

He stopped his rash movements quickly as the sound of approaching footsteps squishing in the mud came from the ground above.

The elf picked up his head as the sound came closer, and his body tensed when it showed no intention to move in another direction or stop. The noises were too loud to be made by an elf. Silent whisperings could be heard escaping mouths.

Legolas moved his eyes to glance up through the many holes in the net, but all his eyes could catch were the tips of the branches hanging over the top of the hole being pushed around by the silent sound of the breeze and the clouds decorating the sky with their gray color.

The prince gave a slight jump as an intrusion suddenly blocked most light coming into the opening. The head was that of a man, his black hair went down to his chin and his curious face turned into a big smile. He turned his head back in the direction of the other men. "Frimond! Looks like we finally caught one!"

The man called Frimond appeared. He had brown, wavy hair that was barely touching the tops of his shoulders. "Well, well, well, we did did, didn't we? Great job Amrin." His voice was deep and rumbled like the thunder as his face turned from an evil smirk to an expression of disgust. "I finally caught one of you pathetic creatures. Now, I will show you due respect!"

Legolas gave him a sour face and Frimond merely chuckled. "Pull him up!" His voice echoed.

Before Legolas could understand what they were doing the net was pulled upwards by a long rope, causing him to fall back, onto his back as he rose from the depths of the trap's mouth.

He let out a sudden cry of surprise as the net opened and dropped him down about three feet, causing his wound and trapped leg to buckle under his weight, blood to spill from the injury and pain erupt once again .

The mist that covered the muddy ground corkscrewed away and what he saw ripped his heart from his chest; Thaladirith lay covered in the mud and blood laying on the wet grass.

Unmoving.

Amrin saw what caught his gaze and he followed it to the body of another blond haired elf that lay on the ground. "What about him?" He asked in a timid voice.

Legolas watched wide eyed as Frimond moved over to Thaladirith and kicked him in the side, causing him to roll onto his back, then kicked him again. "He is dead. We have no use for him, leave him."

Legolas starred horror struck at the upturned body of his friend and sorrow began to build up in his eyes, threatening to spill over as tears. The distant sound a sword being drawn could be heard , and pain suddenly seared though the back of the prince's head.

And he saw no more.

Wow! That chapter took us forever to write… I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please review! Have a great Easter everyone! Eat lots of chocolate eggs!

**Review Responses**

**Elf771- **Yay! A new reviewer! Welcome! Thank you so much for reviewing! Your the reader here…give us all the advise you want! Accually we beg you to give advice. I ask the readers opinion all time because they usually see the story in a different way. Oh! You will see what happens to Thaladirith (rubs hands together) hehe! Mellyn nin is plural mellon nin isnt! Thanks for the words of encouragement!

**Legolass Q- **Haha! Shelby wrote that line too! Hehe she's good at that kinda thing! And no, poor legolas is always getting into trouble… what will he ever do. poor elf. Thank you for the review!

**Zammy** - Thanks for the review! I hope the updates aren't too long for you! The next one should be up sooner. I hope.

**Slayer3- **YAY! Another new reviewer! Im glad you like the story! We have been working hard! Thank you for the reveiw!

**MorierBlackleaf**- Hehe. Thanks. It is kinda sad, isn't it. lol.! You seem pretty happy about Legolas being hurt! Thank you for the review!

**Deana- ** Im happy to hear from you again! Hope your liked this chapter!

Namarie, for now!


	4. The Weight of the Warg

**For Disclaimer and other notes see prologue **

Hey guys sorry for the long delay, we had problems with writers block…but were back now and hopefully have the next chapter up in a week. Sorry about the wait.

**Thank you so much** to Gwenneth who betaed this chapter and helped us out of writers block! We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you!

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Stranger in Shadows

By: Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 3

The Weight of the Warg

Thranduil walked through the halls of the palace of Mirkwood, his mind was racing to the point he could not keep track of. His son and Thaladirith has been missing for over two weeks now. They offered to go on a hunting trip to find food and were suppose to come back in a week, weather they had caught something or not.

_I knew I shouldn't have let them go!_ Thranduil thought to himself. Legolas had no other job to complete when he asked, and argued his point clearly.

The clouds had brought down so much rain, homes had become flooded and destroyed. Food had become scarce and families that were abandoned by there homes were now living with others, or scrunched in the palace. The palace had also gone under construction as the river had over flowed. Mud was everywhere as the rain still wouldn't give the wood-elves a rest.

The king knew that he shouldn't have let his son go with friend into the woods without more of a hunting party. Most of the others were busy and the land was growing full of shadows and hatred; calling for more guards to be out on duty for a longer time and protecting those in need or any families that sorrowed from a lost loved one, either in the flood or lack of food.

His mind elsewhere, Thranduil stopped abruptly as he went around the corner, nearly butting into a second elf. He looked up to meet the eyes of Randir, one of the weapon designers in Mirkwood, but his current position was by the front gates with Thalion, Thaladirith's father, filling in for the missing guard.

"Excuse me my lord." He responded, slightly bowing his head and moved over to the side, allowing Thranduil to pass.

"No news of my son?" The kings voice was weary, staying up all the night with very little food caused him to become very tired and mindless.

"Not yet, my lord"

Thranduil let out a deep sigh in response and moved forward once more.

A few days ago he had sent a few extra guards and any willing elves to go search for the missing elves. It was a very small party, but time was growing late and darker by the hour and he was getting uneasy as night took over the sky.

Thinking once again he made his way back to his study, and sat in the chair by his desk, covered in papers that garnished the top of the desk. So many things running through his mind; homeless and the heartbroken elves, food, evil and his son. His son. He ran his long hands across his pale face in frustration, and gave a loud sigh.

The king got up from his chair and paced the room several times, pausing here and there with one arm across his chest and the other hand atop his brow with his eyes closed in concentration.

A soft, timid knock was heard on the door. "Enter." He responded not opening his eyes.

"My lord" Randir entered, the search party has returned. Worry was seen in the elfs eyes as he barred the news to his king.

Thranduil snapped his gaze from where it was being held and motioned for him to continue, and his heart sank when he saw the look upon the face of the weapon designer.

Randir looked down. "It doesn't look good. Thaladirith is fighting for his life as we speak and…" he paused. A pause that seemed to last forever." And, a-and Legolas wasn't found."

Horror streaked across the Thranduil face.

"This arrow was the only thing that was found, buried in the mud, next to a hole. A gigantic hole that was not made by any of the Mirkwood elves not too far from the Elf Path, by the Mountains of Mirkwood."

Randir paused again, not sure how to continue this. "The party fear it was a trap. He would not have survived, Randir paused and went down to a whisper, tears coated his eyes. "For there was too much blood that stained the mud."

Traveling down the Anduin was not an easy journey. Though rain had slowed down, but they had been out for days and have not made much progress; hiding from the lightning, there horses sliding from the mud and delayed by the elf. They had a long time before they reached there destination even on their horses.

They had a rough time getting back to camp to retrieve their horses that they left when they went to retrieve their prize the day before. Half the time they had to drag him in the net thought the mud because he was still unconscious.

Frimond was forced to make Legolas ride with Amrin, they had no other horse and Legolas couldn't support his own weight. Amrin was a big man and always picked on the elf when he had the chance.

Legolas watched the small far away light from the campfire that the men huddled around, talking quietly. The elf was tied to the back of a tree with his wrists bound so tightly that the ropes dug into his skin causing them to bleed freely.

None of his wounds had been treated to. His ankle was trap free, but it hurt as much as it did, growing swollen and a deep crimson red. Whenever he walked, even a short distance, it would tear open and bleed. Frimond didn't even bother to put a bandage around it, he didn't even notice, or if he did he didn't care.

Legolas' head pounded and the pain was causing him to be very week. He tried not to be, but it just happened. Even if he were to escape he knew he wouldn't get far. Though they hadn't run into any evil yet, Legolas knew that it would only be a matter of time before one of the men's cookouts attracted attention.

He sighed again, his heart felt heavy, his father had other things to worry about besides his son being gone, and Thaladirith. _He's dead, _legolas thought_, If only I were paying attention. He's dead because of me_. A tear trickled down his cheek, his only hope was to be that someone would find Thaladirith in time.

He shook his head. No. It couldn't be true. He couldn't be dead, but every time the thought came to his mind; the more he could no longer fight himself to believe that his friend was still alive. He wouldn't have survived that long by himself. His blond stained hair whipped around his face by the wind.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft growl behind him. His sconces were caught unaware as his mind was drifting, thinking of other things. He jumped as it was heard again, and gave a warning shout, just as a pack of three hideous creatures jumped out ignoring the elf and going straight for the men's campfire.

Frimond cried in surprise as he was knocked to the ground before he could retrieve his weapons. Another man named Broimn cried in surprise as sharp teeth latched onto his throat and he was thrown by the strength of the warg over to the side. Covered in blood and lay motionless.

Legolas sat as still as he possibly could and dimmed what faint glow he had surrounding his body. His quiver was taken from him along with his bow, but he had a small hunting knife in his boot that he could not reach. His weapons would be useless to him even if his hands weren't bound. He watched the scene unfold as Frimond squirmed from under the wargs clutches and used his sword to pierce the heart as he jumped for yet another attack.

The horses that were tied up to the trees not far away were spooked by the sudden attack of the wargs. They reared and stomped their feet at there attackers.

Another warg made itself known and spotted the still elf tied to the tree. The creature made its way over to the elf, ignoring all else and leaped on legolas' weak body, scratching at his chest with his sharp claws.

Legolas squirmed in pain and tired to throw the evil creature from his body with his legs, but the warg grew more interested as his enemy was fighting back. The warg latched onto his bad leg with a meanfull growl and pulled backwards as if trying to pull the elf from the tree. Legolas screamed out and a crack was heard from the princes' ankle. His leg was on fire, and tears streamed down his face, as the pain blinded him.

All light from the campfire was extinguished as what left of the fire burned out. It was really dark and the men who were fighting could no longer see where their attackers were. Rain began to lighting fall once again and gradually increased. Amrin and Frimond heard the loud distress cries and made to kill the last warg, and landed right atop legolas. The weight and pain drew him into sweet darkness.

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Wow! Poor Legolas never gets a break, does he? Thank you to all who reviewed! You guys helped so much! Were sorry about the cilffie. Hehe chapter 4 just got finished, and it doesn't have a cliffie!

**Review Responses**

**Deana: **Yes poor legolas! Hehe sorry for the wait on the chapter! Thank you for reviewing!

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**Mornflower:** YAY! Its nice to hear from you again! Im glad you liked the chapter! Thank you so much for all your comments! Sorry about the movie…that would drive me crazy. Hehe Thank you for the review!

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**Celebdil-Galad and Tinlaure:** AHHH! Sorry for the long wait! Dont hurt us! remember if you hurt us then you wont find out what happens… muhahah! But that still doesn't mean you can kill us AFTER the story either! Hehe because we have a sequel!

**Kateydidnt:** Legolas and Aragorn friendship are the best! And if you are looking for a really good series to read you should read the Mellon Chronicles by Cassia Siobhan. If you want the link, let me know. Drop me an email! Thank you for reviewing!


	5. Complications

**For disclaimer and other notes see prologue.**

Hey all, sorry for the long wait. I have been so busy with RL, and we have had a little writers block too. My grandmother fell down the concrete stairs at our house and broke her wrist, her whole face and chest is black and blue. Then a few days later my Granddad fell of scaffolding (he's a construction worker and he's really healthy for his age) and broke his hip and his arm. He had 3 screws put into his hip.(winces) Then last weekend I went up to the mountains and just came back on Monday, and Shelby has been putting shingles on her roof….

Enough rant, enjoy chapter four…

Special thanks to Gwenneth for betaing this chapter.

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Strangers in Shadows

By Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 4

Aragorn pulled his hood over his head and led his horse into a grove of trees as the rain began to pour from the sky. He was happy to be on his way back home to Rivendell. He unpacked his saddlebags and prepared to make camp until the rain stopped, whereupon he would finish his travel back toward and over the Misty Mountains.

The ranger offered his horse some water and then began to gather any dry firewood he could to make a fire. He sat with his back against a tall tree and watched the rain fall to the ground, splattering as it impacted the hard earth, and ate a small wafer of_ lembas_ bread. The small amount of light from the moon seeping in from the cover of the clouds reflected off the growing number of puddles covering the ground.

He had been with the rangers of the north a lot longer than he had expected to be and was happy to finally see familiar land -- and soon -- his home. Aragorn let his mind wander to his experiences the past long months; The other rangers had called Aragorn out because a band of men had been attacking and they had needed help keeping the villages safe.

Aragorn hadn't been with them for awhile and there had been a few new people among the group that he hadn't known. But new people were always welcomed, for they could always use help.

All of them had split up into groups and managed to slow down the attacks. Finally, after several months, Aragorn had felt he could safely go home and get some peace.

The Ranger finished his meal and forced his tired body up from the ground as the rain slowed down to a stop. He knew he should rest, but he was so eager to get home. The man knew he still had to travel over the Misty Mountains and that was an arduous path in itself. But even the mountains could not stop him; He wanted to sleep in a warm bed and hear the laughter and jokes of his two twin brothers who were always pulling pranks on anyone they could find.

He stamped out the small fire and scattered the ashes so there would be no sign of a camp here. The last thing he needed was for someone to follow him. The ranger mounted Thunder and rode him from the grove of trees and into the darkness of the night.

He rode silently and slowly in the direction of the High Pass through the mountains until he perceived hushed voices in another grove of trees and the orange flame of a fire. He dismounted and motioned for his gelding to stay where it was. Stepping silently and cautiously toward the small camp, he hoped these weren't some of the same men he had dealt with earlier.

"No! Stop it!" The command of the first voice yelled.

The second voice replied in an angry tone, "If you don't do something now he is going to die!"

"I know! Just keep your hands off him!" the first voice shouted again.

Aragorn moved closer to the trees and could make out two men fussing over someone, but their backs were all turned toward him. Two other men sat by the fire, concern written on their faces, but they said nothing and didn't move unless asked.

"Nolan, bring me some fresh water!" the first man's angry tone demanded. "It's your fault we got attacked anyway! Why you weren't watching the camp is beyond me," he muttered.

"But Frimond, we have no more water left," Nolan replied. "All was spilt during the attack."

Aragorn listened as the conversation continued and concluded that these men had been attacked by someone or something quite recently. He turned his head and looked around. Not far away he could see the dark outline of animal bodies sprawled out on the wet ground. That answered one question in his mind.

"Well then find some and hurry! Abdul, you go with him!" Frimond snarled. "We need to be moving on otherwise it will take us years to track down those other elves!"

Nolan and Abdul took a torch and moved off into the trees searching for any source of water. Aragorn watched them walk off and then glanced back at Frimond and the other man; their backs still facing him. He watched carefully as one man took any bandages he had in his bag and applied them to whoever was in front of him and then tossed another useless, blood-dripping cloth off to the side of them; repeating the process until he ran out of bandages.

'Tracking down elves?' Aragorn thought to himself. He shook his head and let his mind wander on the subject. 'Why would they want elves?' He suddenly thought of his home in Imladris, and he sure hoped that they were doing ok.

The wind picked up and the breeze rattled the trees. Aragorn was caught off guard as he perceived the sounds of small branches cracking and the sound of loud voices. He turned quickly and made for Thunder as he heard Nolan and Abdul come closer.

Turning swiftly around he was abruptly halted by a large branch that caught his jacket. The ranger panicked as the two men came closer to his previous hiding spot. He turned to free himself only to trip on a root and fall forward with a loud thud. He cursed as the two men erupted from the trees.

"Hey! You!" Nolan shouted out at Aragorn. The tall man ran forward as Aragorn got to his knees and started to stand. Nolan tackled him and Aragorn fell back forward again into the grass.

The ranger pushed Nolan off of him and once again scuttled to stand up, but was taken back down by an unexpected kick to the stomach.

Aragorn doubled forward as the boot swiftly kicked him again, paralyzing him as he tried to draw breath. Why did everything always have to go wrong at the last minute? Every time something seemed to be over for him and he was ready to go back to peace, another incident struck him down.

"Good Abdul," one of the men said, nodding at the other man that was with him as he turned to take hold of the ranger and haul him to his feet.

Aragorn struggled to get free from the tight grasp that Nolan had him in. "What are you doing here?" Nolan asked Aragorn.

Aragorn looked back at his attackers and responded in a raspy voice. "I am a mere traveler."

Nolan's eyebrow arched in suspicion, "You ain't one of them rangers are ya?" When Aragorn wouldn't answer Nolan got frustrated. "Ya ain't, are ya?" Nolan repeated in an angrier tone; thinking Aragorn hadn't heard him.

Aragorn pondered his choices. It was obvious this man didn't like rangers, but yet something seemed to trigger his mind, something he couldn't recognize. "No I am not," he finally answered.

Nolan eyed him as if looking though him, searching for any sign that the man before him was indeed telling the truth. After a while Nolan nodded, taking in the information reasonably.

Aragorn let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, hoping it wasn't a tell-tale sign of his lie. When there was no indication that the men had caught his lie, he sighed in relief.

"What were you doing spying on our camp," one of the men asked Aragorn, startling the man as the question had come so abruptly. With his eyebrows again raised in suspicion, the man waited for Aragorn to reply.

"I heard a bit of panic and stopped to see if I could be of help," the Ranger responded. It wasn't a lie; that was indeed the truth.

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See ya all in the next chapter! Thank you for all those who have been patient and have stayed with us. Wow! Nine reviews in one chapter! Thank you all!

Kitsune Kida- Hey there! Yes poor Legolas is in a lot of pain. Hehe. Thanks for the review!

Mornflower- Hey! We haven't talked to you in a long while, I miss chatting with you on the net! Thanks for your wonderful comments! We love them!

Zammy- Sorry it was so long. Thanks for stikin with us!

Saerwen- Sorry for the long wait Mari. Thanks for bugging Shelby and I about it too. Keep bugging us and maybe the next chapter will be up sooner. lol. Thanks for the review!

Deana- Wow! Lots of OW's! lol! Thanks for the review!

Elf771- Legolas will get better sooner or later. Thaladirith isn't dead? Hmm…. (wink) Thanks for the review and I hope you stay with us!

grecian - Oh Darn! Legolas cant loose a leg. Thanks for the review, things will brighten up a bit.

Karri- Good to hear from you! Hopefully legolas will get better soon. Thanks for reviewing!

Namarie for now!


	6. A Healing Hand

**For disclaimer and other notes see prologue**

Thank you so much Gwenneth for beta reading this chapter

Strangers in Shadows

By; Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 5

A Healing Hand

The man's cheeks flushed red with anger, thinking to himself that having a spy in their midst wouldn't help matters. Grabbing Aragorn's collar like a horse's bridle, he dragged him toward the camp.

"Yeah right! You were eavesdropping? We'll see what Frimond has to say about you," Nolan barked, still not sounding entirely convinced that Aragorn was who he claimed to be. He looked too much like a ranger to the untrusting man.

Pulling himself and Aragorn through the bush, being louder than normal because of the struggling ranger, there suddenly sounded the frustrated bark of a man from up ahead, startling the men and their new captive.

"Have you got that water yet, Nolan?" Frimond yelled through the trees. He was kneeling down as he tried to start a fire and he could not see what was going on behind the camp.

"No! I couldn't find any!" was the response he got, Frimond was just about to release his anger on the man, when Nolan interrupted again, bursting through the trees and shoving a man in front of him.

"I didn't find any water, but I found him. He was spying on our camp!" Nolan threw Aragorn to the ground and kicked him in the ribcage. Aragorn doubled over again, trying to protect his vulnerable stomach. His chest felt like it was on fire and he continued trying hard to catch his breath.

"Like…I said," the ranger replied between gasps, "I wasn't spying." Aragorn lifted his head and met the eyes of Frimond. Then he turned his gaze to the being lying on the ground. The being's long blonde hair was clumped together and matted with blood and from what the man could see the his tunic was covered in the same red substance. Aragorn glanced back at Frimond, waiting for a response.

"He was trying to see if he could be of any help," Abdul volunteered in his whining voice.

Frimond raised an eyebrow in suspicion and gazed back at the ranger who was still on his knees, tenderly gripping his stomach and taking deeper than normal breaths as he tried to recover from the earlier blows to his midsection. The large man rose to his feet, anger filling his eyes. "What did you hear?" He asked.

Aragorn carefully worded his reply. Obviously there was something that these men were discussing that they didn't want him to hear. "I didn't hear anything," Aragorn replied. "I am a traveler, a healer. I was more concerned about who was hurt. I thought I could be of some help."

Frimond saw the look on the ranger's face as he studied Aragorn, his eyes finally coming to rest on the hilt of a dagger tucked into the man's waistband. Frimond suddenly lunged for the dagger but Aragorn was too quick and pulled it out before Frimond had much of a chance to move, ready for any attack this man would try on him.

"Very nice," Frimond replied, eyeing the dagger. "Where did you get that dagger, it looks elvish made to me," he pointed out. "You ain't a friend of those elves are you?" He questioned suspiciously as he pointed to the injured elf lying on the ground.

Aragorn thought for a moment and simply answered; "No."

"Then what are you doing with an elvish dagger?" Frimond questioned him again.

It took a bit for Aragorn to come up with an answer that he felt wouldn't give anything away to tip these men off to his true identity. "I traded with some hunters a while back and I thought it was a well made weapon," he finally responded, loosening the grip on his stomach slightly.

Frimond looked back at him and seemed to accept his answer. "You said you were a healer. A good healer?" Aragorn nodded his response. "You said you were willing to help, are you going to help us or not!" Frimond snapped the question as he pointed at the blonde individual lying on the ground beside him.

Aragorn nodded at Frimond and made his way over to the hurt blonde being. An immediate look at the beings face he knew it was an elf. Why would these men want an elf? A closer look at the elf's attire, though it was saturated in blood, and he knew the elf was a wood elf.

'It' Aragorn thought defensively, why would they call the being, 'it', he thought further, remembering the way the men had referred to the injured blonde. "What happened to him? Why is he so gravely injured?" Aragorn asked in a very concerned voice, his eyebrows furrowing.

"He's a violent and stubborn creature. He wouldn't cooperate with us." The answer had come from Nolan.

Aragorn shook his head, not really satisfied with that answer, and turned back to the elf, more questions flooding his mind. He didn't want to sound too curious however, knowing his position was precarious at best. The elf's eyes were closed and he was unconscious. Blood streaked across his face and his tunic was ripped across the chest. He was losing too much blood too quickly.

Taking the wrist of the elf, he felt for a pulse. It was too fast. The Ranger whistled and Thunder, his gelding, ran through the trees to the camp, stopping right in front of his rider. The men eyed the horse wearily as if expecting Aragorn to pull something on them. Aragorn patted Thunder's neck and took his saddlebag, digging through it, searching for bandages to stop the blood rushing from the elf's body.

The small group of men watched Aragorn over his shoulder, as the strange man they met applied bandages and started to mix a substance in a small mug. Aragorn looked behind him and saw the men watching. "I can't heal him unless you give me space."

The men stepped away and went about their business, but Frimond kept a close eye on Aragorn, not moving from were he stood.

Aragorn lifted the elf's head as a thousand questions ran through his mind about this group of men and why the elf was in their captivity.

He slowly dripped the liquid into the blonde's mouth, thankful that swallowing was a reflective action.

The worst part was the Elf's ankle; it had been broken and twisted over and there were deep marks on it that looked like they had been healed shut and then reopened. The skin on his ankle was crimson red and was dangerously swollen.

The hours flew by, yet Aragorn did not take a break from healing the hurt elf. Frimond, with a quick glance back at the ranger, finally moved toward the bright orange fire where the rest of the small group had gathered.

Aragorn, meanwhile, leaned back on his heels and moved his hair out of his face, clearing his view of the dark locks. He watched the elf as he breathed, his chest rising and falling. Uneven though it was, at least it was a sign that the wood elf was alive. Having no luck with calling him back to consciousness, there wasn't much for Aragorn to do now but wait until he came around.

The quarter moon was framed by the swaying trees that silently watched the men around the camp, lighting the ground with the waving shadows of the tree's leaves and branches. Watching the maples branch's shadows play across the forest floor beside him, Aragorn's mind began to drift. The swaying of the leaves soothed him, like a baby in a cradle, rocking to the sound of the wind. Aragorn's eyes were partly closed, but he forced himself to stay awake in case the elf awoke, but the glow of the moon pulled at him, bidding him to sleep.

That is, until something beside the shadows caught his attention…

A shimmer, nothing more, was skimming the edges of the light and the shadows. In and out of the gloom, the object captured both Aragorn's and the moon's interest.

He tilted his head to one side when the glimmer caught full attention of his awareness. The glimmer had been coming from the elf's bloody, ripped tunic that lay beside him and it had suddenly disappeared. Leaning over to grab the discarded tunic, he searched for that iridescent object he had seen.

When he couldn't find it initially, he laid out the tunic so he could see the entire cloth as he skimmed it to find the source of his curiosity. Without the light of the moon, however, he could find nothing. No sight of the glittering item. The brooch or whatever it was, had gone.

Moving the tunic closer to his eyes so the soft fabric graced his nose, Aragorn continued to look. He found nothing but the smooth design that the elf preferred to wear.

Then, the moon returned and…There! There it was. It turns out that it wasn't a brooch at all, but a graceful bit of stitching with a silver thread. The stitches curved in and out of a form of a dark-green threaded leaf that was cross-stitched into the cloth. The silver thread weaved through the leaf as if the very beams of light from the moon were crossing through it like the waves of water ran through the grass on the shores of the sea. The print was so small that had one looked upon it, it would have been carelessly overlooked, for its size was less than that of Aragorn's smallest fingernail.

Cautions must have been taken when the makers of the elf's tunic had created it so that none who didn't know the elf knew his place in Mirkwood. The stitches were sited on the inside the of the hem.

Aragorn knew the symbol that the elf he was watching wore and what it stood for, and only those that wore it stood in his place; this elf that lay unconscious before him was the Prince of Mirkwood, he was Prince Legolas.

The rangers eyes planted themselves on the prince when he realized his identity, only to find that Legolas' eyes where already staring into his. Aragorn jumped back, nearly losing his balance on his heels when he discovered the wounded elf was awake. His heart fell when he saw what pain the prince held in his eyes. Pain and confusion.

Still slightly surprised, Aragorn leaned forward to check the temperature of Legolas' forehead, quickly finding he still ran a fever.

When he was certain that none of the others could hear him, Strider whispered in elvish so only the prince could understand; "Don't worry Legolas; you're going to be alright."

Blue eyes locked onto his after the friendly words were spoken, until silently fluttering closed as he lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Looking back at the stitching he had found, he almost cried aloud. No elf should be in captivity like this, least of all the Prince of Mirkwood.

A loud snort from behind made Aragorn look around. The others were asleep and Abdul was snoring. All were asleep except Nolan who subconsciously moved the dying embers in the fire so they sparked and hissed. Nolan looked up to the ranger, realizing that Strider also looked at him. He raised his eyebrow in a questioning look that clearly asked; 'What about the elf?'

Turning his gaze back to Legolas, he found that the bandages around his ankle were already drenched in red blood. He needed to change them and possibly give the wound something more to stop the bleeding, what he used before clearly hadn't helped much.

As he changed the bandages, Aragorn made a silent vow to Legolas who lay there trying to breathe around the pain as he slept. He vowed that somehow, in one way or another that they both would return home. He inwardly hoped that one way or another didn't mean one of them dead.

Glancing back to the sleeping men he found that the fire had completely died and Nolan was nowhere to be seen.

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Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! We loved each and every one of them! Welcome new readers and thank you to those who have continued to read!

Karri- Thanks for the review!

Jedi-Bant- Oh, there will be plenty of room for more Legolas torture! Thanks for the review!

Saerwen- Shelby and I still smell like pickles from the last time you threatened us. If you use the manacles then we wont be able to write. Thanks for stickin' with us!

Slayer3- LOL! Legolas and Aragorn do seem to get into lots of trouble don't they? Thanks for reviewing!

Mornflower- Thanks for the review, I got your email about you leaving. Hope you have fun on your trip.

Iluvboduke- We are so glad you enjoy the story! Thanks for reviewing!

Ivinsigoth3- Thank you for the review! Yes our favorite elf and ranger are having problems again. Hehe.

Lost-Elf- lol! Finals can really get to you. Im glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

Deana- Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for staying with us!

SmilingDragonGirl- Thank you so much! I am so glad you like our story. We were just talking about Thaladirith. You will see some of him in the next chapter, and you will find out what's happening. Thanks for the review and we hope to hear from you again.

Massager of the Elvenking- Thank you for reviewing, Im glad you liked what we have so far.

wolenczak2004- Thanks for reviewing. Glad you liked it.

Namarie, for now

Amanda&Shelby


	7. For Better or For Worse

**For Disclaimer and other notes see prologue **

Hey all sorry for the long wait, but we have had a few things come up that are too hard to ignore. The next chapter should be up this weekend. (hopefully)

Note: This chapter has not been betaed word for word or sentence for sentence, though it has been read over. Our beta was caught up in a few things and was unable to look it over.

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Strangers in Shadows

By: Amanda & Shelby

Chapter 6

For Better or For Worse

Aragorn awoke to the sound of rustling in the bushes across the camp. He sat up quickly when he remembered where he was. His head turned and his gaze fell on the blond being beside him as he pieced together last night's events.

He remembered discovering that Frimond had captured Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood. His head fell and sadness covered his face at an elf like the Prince of Mirkwood being imprisoned by men.

Aragorn had once briefly met Legolas along time ago as a child. Legolas and his father, Thranduil, had come by for a short council meeting with Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. Elladan and Elrohir, his older brothers, knew the Prince as well and they talked about him sometimes back at home.

He snapped out of his thought as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw Frimond coming his way. He quickly remembered Legolas' tunic that was on the ground beside him. The ranger quickly shoved it into his healing bag with all the rest of his herbs. The last thing he needed was one of the elf's captives to find out he was Prince.

"So how is the stinking beast?" The man's voice grumbled like thunder.

Aragorn looked up at the man from pulling the strings of his healing pack closed. The look in Frimonds eyes was of pure loathing and hatred, but yet, Aragorn had caught a glimpse of sadness and loneliness.

Aragorn looked back at the elf, getting on his knees to check the bandages again. "He lives," The ranger finally replied. "But he is still unconscious and wont be able to move about for quite a while, least of all walk, due to the extended amount of injury. "

Frimond scowled and started to stalk off, but turned abruptly back toward the ranger. "We need to be heading off, get yourself and the elf ready to leave. You are welcome to come with us if you will keep an eye on the stupid creature. We need a healer any way."

Aragorn was struck by the sudden offer to come with them as their healer. This might be a good opportunity to get the elf to safety. He thought. But the idea of them leaving now and traveling to wherever they were going made him hate the man more and more. He could feel his anger building. They couldn't leave now, not with the Prince in his current condition.

Aragorn quickly fought back his response like a soldier ready for battle. "We can't travel now! It will only make his condition worse!" The ranger somehow found himself on his feet, though he didn't remember getting there.

Frimond pivoted back around, facing the now standing ranger, he moved so his face was nearly touching Aragorn's. The ranger felt a hand grab a hold of his tunic as Frimond tried to make his point.

"I thought that you should have realized that I don't give a damn about those blasted elves! Least of all this one! "Aragorn stared at him. Had Frimond figured out that the elf he had in his custody was the prince? The way he was speaking, Aragorn feared he had. "This one was just dimwitted enough to walk into a mantrap, that I dought that he would have realized he had killed a man! So if traveling would 'make his condition worse' I could care less for the beast."

The entire camp froze as if winter had come early and froze the men like the icy lake. Even Nolan that seemed to be emotionless save for his anger seemed to be struck senseless by their leader's statement. Was this why he wanted revenge on the elves? He thinks that they killed someone he knew?

'Well,' Aragorn thought.' Legolas' identity is still secret then…for now anyways.'

Frimond let go of Aragorn while pushing him down to the ground. Aragorn watched as Frimond started stuffing his belongings angrily into his saddle bag and jump atop his horse.

"Get the elf." Frimond said without looking back at the others. He began to ride off through the trees with out waiting for the men.

Aragorn pushed himself up off the forest floor. He grabbed his pack and hastily and started shoving supplies into the bag.. Frimond looked around at the ranger, who was holding up everyone else, with a questioning glare.

"I'm coming." The ranger said as he got his mount.

"I know you are, you idiot!" Frimond yelled back at Aragorn who in return gave him a questioning glare. "I told you before didn't I? That I would not let you go. Hurry! Your holding us all up!"

Aragorn's glare quickly became of one of a confused look. "Where are we heading to?"

"Emyn Muil." He answered

Frimond started walking ahead again before turning and looking at Nolan. "You can take the elf, Nolan." He said.

Fear struck the insides of Aragorn's chest; Nolan without a second thought would harm Legolas. He didn't know the man well, but the look he gave the Prince whenever he glanced over at him; Strider knew that Nolan hated elves as much as the trees hated fire. "But do not harm him any more than he needs to be." The leader added in a mimicking tone, glancing toward Aragorn.

Aragorn breathed a small sigh as Frimond subconsciously defended his fears.

He watched as one other man, he guessed was named Gullyn, helped set Legolas in front of Nolan after he had mounted his horse and made sure that his arms were bound tight enough that if he awoke, his arms being behind his back would keep him from doing much harm. Aragorn wished he could just take the Prince and get him to safety, but he had a feeling that with himself and an injured companion atop the same horse, it would slow them down enough to be recaptured. That would only lead them to more trouble.

"What is your name?" Aragorn jumped. He didn't expect someone to speak to him right then.

"What?" He looked over at Abdul, who spoke.

Abdul looked at him thoughtfully. "I asked your name. We can't just call you 'Healer'."

Aragorn looked Abdul over. He was a really small man, and had a young face. Almost like the face of a boy. Aragorn only wondered how a man this young could have gotten into a violent group like this one. The boy looked like anyone could easily make him do anything. He sighed

"My name is Strider. Or that's what everyone calls me." He looked back over at Legolas, feeling guilty that he could not help the Prince more.

Abdul raised his eyebrows, his young face looking curious. "Strider? I did not think that was a name of any sort. What kind of name is 'Strider'?"

"The kind I go by." Aragorn answered.. His face lit up in a smile and then went serious. "What kind of name is 'Abdul'? It sounds like some kind of name I would give to a dim mule."

Abdul looked at him a little hurt, taking the joke seriously. Until Aragorn started snickering at his offended face. The young man finally caught on and started to laugh himself.

They started toward the direction of Emyn Muil and Aragorn prayed that fate would be good to them and to keep them from getting to their destination, and maybe, just maybe this will all turn out for the better.

He again looked back to Legolas. His face was ashen; they had only gone a few steps into the trip and the bandages were again stained crimson. He wanted to say something so they would stop and he can change the bandages but he was afraid his call would go on unheard. Frimond didn't care about his condition and most certainly would not stop to help him either

Looking forward once more, he hoped the better would not end here.

Sorry, no time for review responses today. So sorry! Thank you to all who have kept up and reviewed!

Until next time

Shelby & Amanda


	8. Edge of Memories

**Hey guys! It's Shelby this time! I'm so sorry I didn't get this posted last weekend like Amanda told you guys we would do… but I guess a few - complications came up. You see it's usually Amanda who post the chapters and since she had gone on an out of state trip she left me to post… I was really excited! But, ah - I got in a bit of trouble with getting it up. Nothing happened to the chapter I just got a bit confused on how to post; I never really did it before. I laugh at myself that I couldn't figure it out, but I got it up! Yeah!**

**Anyway, this is a short chapter. I know we got a few reviews saying to make the chapters longer, we will try to get them as long as we can for a chapter. Perhaps I could persuade Amanda into writing a nine page chapter and increase the amount there, huh? One more page to every new chapter? Sounds good, right? Well, I'll see what I can do.**

**Hope you guess enjoy this chapter! ; )**

Strangers in Shadows

By: Amanda and Shelby

Chapter 7

Edge of Memories

The morning sun shined through the wide windows of Mirkwoods healing chamber; like a million candles lighting up a dark room late into the night, adding another blanket to the bed a tall blonde elf rested in.

Thaladirith's eyes opened slowly to welcome the visit of the suns fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut to block the sudden amount of light. He felt paralyzed and heavy, like someone has filled his limbs with rock and sand.

Shielding his eyes from the hurtful rays outside with his hand, Thaladirith covered his shoulders with the blankets drawn around his chest. He didn't realized what he had done until he shuddered.

Pain and memories erupted forth into his head like lightning. They all rushed toward him like an army attacking one. The shock made him cry out as he tired to flee from the one coming pictures that tried to sway into focus.

Pictures flashed in and out of his head right before his bright eyes.

Spiders.

Lightning.

Legolas.

Legolas! He attempted to call out for his friend, but his voice croaked. Then he released he was moving his head from side to side, causing more pain than necessary.

The doors busted open as two healers rushed to his bed trying to calm the thrashing elf. He was confused; he didn't know where he was, or what was going on.

Thaladirith squeezed his eyes shut a second time; pain still throbbing through his beat up body.

Dark shapes seem to loom behind his closed eyes. The shadows reminded him of the spiders he fought with Legolas. He remembered the way they dispersed and disappeared when the lightning struck a tree by their small battle, cutting the base of the tree away from the rest. He remembered seeing Legolas in the landing spot of the heavy trunk.

He had rushed forward pushing the prince out of the trees fall - did he push him out of the way? He clutched his head in thought. He couldn't remember! All he knew was that he felt pain fall on top of him, crushing him to the ground. Now he was here. Trying to put together the puzzle of the past.

An Image flashed before his eyes, and the memory came just as fast. He did get Legolas out of the way! He remembered when Legolas rolled the tree of his back. He must have passed out after that, the only other thing he could recall was a sea of black bliss.

"Thala? Thaladirith? Are you awake?" A distant voice asked him. He didn't know if it belonged to reality or if it was part of his mind.

White spots stole his vision, pain throbbing in strong waves inside his head made him wince. "Where is Legolas?" He questioned himself. If he had saved the elf, then why wasn't he here? He recalled that Legolas got injuries as well.

He slowly opened his eyes, seeing two healers standing beside his bed. Their faces were sketched in worry as they stole a quick glance at each other and then looked back to him.

Thaladirith's heart skipped a beat. Where is he? What happened? The look on the healers faces made Thaladirith think of the worst: Is he dead?

"We were hoping that you would know the answer." The shorter healer that questioned his consciousness replied.

Two days passes since he woke up in the healing room of Mirkwood. He had learned from the two healers, Mahtan and Lessienthat no one knew where Legolas was. The only thing Mirkwood knew was that he was missing and gravely injured. Malyn, he seemed to have learned more than Telepwena. He mentioned that one of the guards came back with a broken arrow that belonged to Legolas. No one was really sure weather it meant anything to the mystery of Legolas' disappearance. The prince could have abandoned the broken arrow there.

When one of the guards came to question him he mentioned that the arrow had actually been found outside a pit that was empty, save for a dangerous amount of blood. Thaladirith was found outside the hollow hole, and it looked to be footprints of men on the muddy ground.

Thaladirith sat upright in his bed, immediately regretting it and falling back yelling in pain at his broken ribs, when he heard this dreadful news. The thought of Legolas being taken by men was horrible. His yelp broke down to small moans. His eyes were clamped shut and his face was screwed up in frustration. The elf's head started to pound to match the pounding in his chest.

He moaned again. He wanted to help, he needed to get out there and look for Legolas, not sit here. He felt hapless. It made him feel un-whole and incomplete.

**I know we do this a lot, but right now I have no time for reviews I feel so bad. And I really don't know what the whole deal is with the review responses, I heard we couldn't have them anymore. But hopefully we'll make it up somehow. We do have the next chapter longer than this chapter already. Hope that works.**

**Anyway, gotta go. I have Fantasy homework. smiles I get to read 'The Hobbit' for homework! I feel lucky! ; ) **

**TTFN guys!**


	9. Authors Note

**Authors Note:**

Hey guys it's Shelby (again) Just letting you all know that Amanda and I are going to continue writing Strangers In Shadows even thought it's been about a year since our last update. Life has been getting rough and we had lost all motivation for awhile but its back and we both wish to finish this story to the end. Though we have both agreed that we will not be posting tell we get close to that final stage. We are really sorry about this and we hope you wonderful readers will continue to stick with us.

Amanda and Shelby


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